What is your stool telling you about your health?

What goes in, must come out.

You may not want to talk about this subject and that’s ok, but it’s something I think about and have to talk about a lot in my profession. Your bathroom habits are an important part of your picture of health. Have you heard of the Bristol Stool Chart? There was a time when I had not heard of it either. It’s a chart that I use to help people see what their stool may be telling them about their digestive health.

Why is it important to know this? Well, your stool can tell you

• getting enough fiber,

• whether you have an infection in the digestive tract,

• if you’re able to digest your food properly,

• if you may have food sensitivities,

• if you have enough stomach acid, and

• if you’re absorbing the nutrients in your food.

Amazing, right!? Ok, maybe it’s just me that thinks it’s pretty fascinating. I’m weird that way. Our bodies are so intelligent, and they do tell us things. We just need to pay attention to what they are saying. So, what is your body telling you about your stool?

Below is the Bristol Stool Chart. It breaks things into seven different types of stool.

Constipation

Numbers 1 and 2 are forms of constipation. This could be from dehydration, lack of fiber, sedentary lifestyle, and some medications can also cause constipation. Usually there is straining and it’s hard to pass. Too much of this straining can cause hemorrhoids.

A Normal Poop! Eureka!

Numbers 3 and 4 are what you are aiming for. These are considered normal and healthy. I heard Dr. Oz say on his show once, something like “a perfect poop is like a torpedo – shoots directly into the toilet without any strain or effort. Shwoop!” Something like that. Nice and easy.

Loose Stools

Numbers 5 and 6 are considered loose stool. They may indicate lack of fiber, food sensitivities, a possible gastrointestinal issue. Number 6 is moving towards diarrhea and could be also be a sign of a bacterial or viral infection or from medications.

Diarrhea

This is Number 7, diarrhea. A lot of the time you may also feel an urgency to go. This usually indicates some sort of infection. Chronic diarrhea could also point to a possible medical condition such as celiac disease, Chron’s disease or ulcerative colitis. Please note that chronic diarrhea will lead to dehydration so it’s important to talk to your doctor if it persists.

Note: When you start to see undigested food in your stool, that indicates a few things could be going on: you’re not chewing your food enough, you may lack enough stomach acid and enzymes to break the food down. This also means that you’re probably not absorbing the nutrients from your food.

Color

Color really isn’t anything to worry about, unless it is black. In that case, go see your doctor, it could be blood in the stool. If you see red tinged stool, first ask yourself what did you eat recently. And if it’s nothing that would cause it to be red, then it could be blood from internal or external hemorrhoids. Again, something that’s best to talk to your doctor about.

Frequency

You should be going at least once a day. Maybe every other – this also depends on what your stool looks it. If you have a Number 3 or 4 shaped stool and are going every other day…then I say, that’s ok. But if it’s any of the other numbers, then you want to pay attention to what your body is telling you.

It’s healthy and ok to have up to 3 bowel movements in one day. What’s not ok is to go once a week. Your body’s natural, healthy transit time is between 18 and 24 hours from the time you eat. Transit time is the time it takes for the food you eat to exit your body. If it’s less than 18 hours, it’s moving through you too quickly and you’re not absorbing your nutrients. Possibly there’s something going on digestively or you’re sensitive to something you ate. If it’s longer than 24 hours, it indicates a sluggish digestive system that needs a boost to get things going.

So, the next time you go, take a peek to see what your stool looks like. It’s ok, really. This will give you an idea of what’s going on with your digestive system.

Curious to Know What's Happening in Your Digestive System?

You may or may not know that I offer functional testing in my practice. It's a great way to find the root cause of the symptoms you may be dealing with, instead of guessing what may be going on. If you are interested to learn more about these tests, you can email me. I offer two digestive health tests (GI-MAP Stool test and MRT-176 Food Sensitivity blood test), whole-body system test (blood chemistry tests), hormone testing (DUTCH and saliva tests, for both male and female).